Machine techniques for creating a threaded bore in a desired item or material (e.g., a nut, pipe, plate, etc.) are known in the art. These procedures are generally referred to as "tapping" procedures. A byproduct of the tapping process is errant particles (dust, chips, flakes, etc.) of the material that was tapped. These particles may become lodged in the threaded hole and obstruct insertion of a bolt or cause a misthread.
The prior art has devised various methods of removing or extracting these particles. A first includes use of an air pneumatic pressure gun or the like to drive particles out of the cavity. Disadvantageous aspects of this approach include that (1) the pneumatic device is undesirably loud and (2) the use of air pressure to remove particles creates dust which may cause an inhalation problem and increases the likelihood of a particle becoming lodged in a worker's eye, amongst other occupational safety concerns.
Another type of prior art particle extraction device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,473, issued to Crist on Aug. 23, 1994, for a Tapping Chip Extractor Tool. While this device has a magnetic tip that attracts metallic tapping particles, the device is disadvantageous in that it does not work on non-metallic material, it is limited to one size and it is generally inflexible. The use of inflexible extraction articles increases the possibility of damage to threads, particularly in high tolerance situations.